Middle East Flashcards
British mandate? date, parties involved, etc
League of Nations awards Britain the mandate to rule over Palestine in 1923
Arabs were shocked –> expected independence
Jewish agency helped Jews emigrate to Palestine ++> no limits on immigration imposed by the British –> Jewish population in Palestine from 1922 to 1931 –> 84 to 175 thousand
From 1933 to 1935, another 135 thousand immigrants, mostly German Jews who fled from the oppressive and anti-Semitic policies of Hitler and arrived in Palestine
Haganah(paramilitary, defense force) was established
3 contradictory agreements made by Britain?
Sykes-Picot, 1916 - agreement between France and Britain to carve up Ottoman land and partition it.
Balfour Declaration, 1917 - declaration of British support for the Jewish claim to Palestine.
McMahon Letters - promised to recognize Arab independence in exchange for the Shariff of Mecca launching an uprising against the Ottoman empire who were allies of Germany.
Balfour Declaration?
November, 1917
Letter sent from Balfour, the British Foreign Secretary of the time, to Baron Rothschild who was a prominent Zionist living in the USA; sought to induce Rothschild to pressure the government to join the war on Britain’s side
supported the jewish claim to Palestine + promised to facilitate the establishment of a jewish ‘home’ - ambiguous and vague use of ‘home’, not specific on borders, British did not hold official rights over promised land
Stated it wanted a peaceful establishment where the rights of Arab groups would not be infringed
Conflicts between the Jews and Arabs?
1921 - Arab riots in Jaffa triggered by the rumour that jews were attacking arabs where in fact it was a clash between two rival Jewish political parties –> 47 Jews and 48 Arabs left dead
August 1929 - clashes occurred over holy sites in Jerusalem –> progressed into 4 days of bloody riots and mob violence throughout Palestine –> 133 Jews and 116 Arabs left dead
Arab strike 1936?
instigated by the fact that Syrians and Iraqi had won political rights by going on general strike –> Palestinians began a full-blown protest
They demanded an end to Jewish immigration and land sales, and a government of their own ++> until their conditions were met, they refused to work or to pay taxes, and boycotted British trade
Roads, railways, oil pipes, and British troops were attacked
within 6 months, 20000 British troops still struggled to control the situation
Arab states got involved and called for calm + perhaps they had to harvest orange yield –> Palestinians agreed to end the strikes
Peel Commission?
1936 - Investigation commission led by William Peel set up in order to investigate the causes of unrest in Palestine and provide a potential solution
Over 100 witnesses questioned
July 1937 - investigation came to the conclusion the Mandate could never succeed –> there was no common ground between Arabs and Jews
Only solution was to end the Mandate and partition the country –> 300 thousand Arabs + 90% of orange groves which was the main source of agriculture for the Arabs would be in Jewish territory
Recommended jewish emigration to proposed Arab territory to stop
Reaction to Partition Plan of 1937?
Arabs: completely refused; believed giving any land to the Jews at all was unjust
Jews: though they disliked the details of the plan, most Jews accepted the plan since a Jewish state would finally be officiated
Arab revolt? 1937-1939
Increasingly violent attacks against British forces and Jews by Arabs who still resented over the Peel Partition plan
Helped by 15 thousand Haganah men, 50 thousand british troops suppressed the uprising using harsh tactics –> rebel houses destroyed + curfews put in place + thousands of Arabs arrested without trial + torturing and beating + villages suspected of helping rebels occupied and its inhabitants expelled + weapons confiscated + britished tied local hostages to their vehicles to prevent sniper attacks
Al-Bassa massacre
Effects of WW2 on Arab revolt situation?
threat of war forced a sudden change in British policy towards Arabs, since their co-operation was needed for the supply of oil to Britain –> Peel Plan shelved and suppression stopped –> Britain imposed limits on Jewish immigration; 10 thousand a year for 5 years –> timing was very bad for European Jews who sought to escape nazi persecution
King David hotel?
Hotel - HQ of Mandate administration
22 July 1946 - according to Menachem Begin, a high ranking Irgun fighter, warnings to evacuate were telephoned but did not reach –> hotel blown up and 91 killed
Public outrage; Irgun criticized by Haganah, UK public concerned about the 100 thousand men still in Palestine, some of whom were dying
Reasons for Britain handing over the problem to the UN?
- Jewish terrorism
- could not fulfill Zionist demands on immigration without angering the Arabs
- lacked money
- worn out by negative publicity and pressure from public
- 100 thousand jews waiting to go to Palestine were still waiting in european camps, which concerned the USA –> USA put economic pressure on Britain
- -> Britain hand over the problem to the UN
UNSCOP?
set up in May 1947 upon the request made in March 1947 by Britain delegates from 11 nations;
warmly welcomed by Jews in contrast to the boycotting Arabs
recommended what was to be known as the Partition Plan(resolution 181) –> two states that would have three separate parts connected to each other + shared currency, railways and roads + Jerusalem and Bethlehem under international control
Arab state –> 99% Arab and 1% Jewish residents - Jewish state –> 55% Jewish and 45% Arab residents
Reactions to the UN plan?
UK:
UK said it would not partake in the implementation of the plan due to public pressure
believed it would lead to war
Arabs:
Completely rejected the plan; 50% of land admitted to Jews even though Jews only represented 33% of the population + Jews only owned 7% of land
Seargent’s affair, 1947 - 2 Royal Army seargents kidnapped and hanged by Arabs
Anti-semitic protests; synagogue burned down in Derby
Jews:
reluctantly agreed, since they wanted Jerusalem as their capital + large portion of territory in the Negev Desert
Extremist Jews found the plan unacceptable
First Arab-Israeli War? dates, events, etc
14 May 48 - Ben-Gurion declares independence of Israel
15 May - Israel invaded by Syria, Egypt, Transjordan, Lebanon, Iraq; 42 million against 650 thousand
First 3 weeks :
only 1 in 3 Israeli soldiers equipped with guns - Arabs had 152 per soldier
Jordan occupies West Bank and East Jerusalem
Iraq invades North
Egypt attack from south
11 June - UN intervention; negotiator Count Bernadotte arranged a 1 month truce –> pivotal point for Israel who was currently losing –> Ben-Gurion reorganised and regrouped IDF with him in charge + ignored UN embargo on weapons and bought weapons from Czechoslovakia including, 30 thousand rifles, 4500 machine guns, 47 million rounds, 84 airplanes using funds provided by US Zionists
Israel broke truce 2 days in advance –> another 3 day truce was arranged
Israel broke truce again and captured Negev desert and Galilee
Reasons for Israeli victory in the first Arab-Israeli war?
- At the start of the war, the combined number of troops sent by the overconfident arab countries was 20-25 thousand, compared to Israel’s 35 thousand –> December 1948 - IDF grown to 108 thousand, double the number Arab forces
- Israeli fighters were much more experienced; many Haganah fought with Britain in WW2 and Irgun and Lehi fighters fought against the British - Only transjordan’s army, the Arab Legion were effective
- Truce allowed Israel to regroup, buy weapons, and catch the Arab countries of guard by breaking the truce
- Different Arab forces did not co-operate nor communicate with each other
